On Aug. 2, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit and an injunction against the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), challenging the constitutionality of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act). The ACLU is suing on behalf of seven high-level federal government employees and four organizations representing them. The ACLU claims that posting officials’ financial information online violates their privacy in addition to potentially threatening their physical safety. On the basis of similar concerns, Congress passed a bill delaying implementation of the STOCK Act.

On June 19, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a policy that establishes a public online database of credit card complaints from customers. The database allows consumers shopping for a credit card to view data about other customers' experiences in order to avoid abusive practices and poor customer service.

A new White House strategy could revolutionize transparency by reforming the fundamentals of how government uses technology. The plan lays out procedures for establishing openness as the default for public information and raises the bar for usability, efficiency, and innovation. The reforms promise to make government information easier to find and use through a series of concrete actions to be taken over the next year and would help Americans engage with their government.